Ethan sat alone in a small, dimly lit diner, the soft hum of conversation and the clatter of dishes creating a familiar backdrop that both comforted and isolated him. He stared at the crumpled paycheck in his hand, the numbers glaring back at him like a cruel reminder of his financial struggles. The scent of greasy fries and coffee wafted through the air, but Ethan found little joy in it. Today, he felt invisible—a mere ghost among the vibrant lives bustling around him. Couples laughed in corners, families shared stories over meals, while he remained an outsider, an observer of a world that seemed indifferent to his existence.
As he sipped his lukewarm coffee, the bell above the diner door jingled, drawing his attention. Patrick Mahomes stepped inside, his presence instantly commanding the room. The star quarterback of the Kansas City Chiefs was dressed casually, but his charisma radiated. He scanned the diner, and his gaze landed on Ethan, who was surprised to see someone so famous in such an ordinary place.
Patrick approached the counter, but as he did, he noticed a woman sitting alone at a table nearby. Claire looked weary, her brow furrowed, and her eyes darted anxiously from her phone to the menu. Ethan couldn’t help but notice the way her fingers trembled slightly as she fished out a few crumpled bills. There was an air of distress about her, a vulnerability that tugged at Ethan’s heartstrings. He shifted in his seat, torn between wanting to offer help and the fear of overstepping.
“Hey,” Patrick said, his voice warm and inviting as he approached Claire. “You okay?” Claire looked up, startled, and their eyes met for a fleeting moment. “Just a rough day, I guess,” she replied, her voice barely above a whisper. “I’ll just have a salad and water, please.”
Ethan felt a surge of compassion as he watched Patrick. “Mind if I pay for your meal?” Patrick asked, his words genuine. Claire blinked, surprise etching her face. “You don’t have to do that,” she replied, her voice a mix of gratitude and confusion. “I insist,” Patrick said, a small smile breaking through his uncertainty. “We all have rough days. Consider it a friendly gesture.”
“Thank you,” she said, her expression softening. “I really appreciate it.” As they exchanged a few more words, Ethan felt an unexpected warmth blossoming between them. Their conversation was brief yet meaningful, the connection palpable. Little did they know that this small act of kindness would intertwine their lives in ways neither could foresee.
Later that evening, Claire stood at the entrance of the grand ballroom, her heart racing as she adjusted the delicate straps of her elegant gown. The charity gala was in full swing, and the shimmering lights reflected off the polished marble floor, creating an atmosphere of opulence she felt utterly out of place in. As she stepped inside, she couldn’t shake the memory of Patrick’s kind smile from her mind. She had been searching for authenticity in a world filled with superficiality, and her encounter with him had ignited a flicker of hope.
“Claire!” a voice called out, pulling her from her thoughts. It was her friend Jessica, clad in an extravagant dress that seemed to scream wealth. “You look stunning! Come on, let’s mingle.” Claire forced a smile, knowing that mingling meant exchanging pleasantries with people who often valued status over substance. As they moved through the crowd, Claire caught glimpses of the evening’s guests, each one more extravagant than the last. Yet in the midst of the glitz, her mind drifted back to the diner and the genuine warmth she had felt from Patrick.
Meanwhile, Ethan sat at the kitchen table of his modest apartment, a plate of cold leftovers in front of him, but his mind was elsewhere. He leaned back in his chair, staring at the peeling paint on the ceiling, lost in thought. “What if I could see her again?” he murmured to himself, running a hand through his tousled hair. The memory of Claire’s gratefulness haunted him—the way her eyes lit up when Patrick paid for her meal. He had felt an instant connection and longed for another chance to explore it. “Maybe I should go back to the diner,” he pondered aloud, his voice barely above a whisper. “But what if she doesn’t remember me?”
As the gala continued, Claire scanned the crowd, her heart pounding with an unexplainable anticipation. Just then, her gaze fell on a figure standing by the bar. Time seemed to freeze as she recognized Patrick, looking dashing in a simple yet sharp suit. He was conversing with a small group, his laughter ringing through the air like music. Their eyes met, and an electric current surged between them, igniting a warmth that filled the expansive ballroom.
“Is that Patrick?”
Kansas City Chiefs Megastar Patrick Mahomes Discusses Hectic Offseason, New Ad Campaign
Patrick Mahomes interacts with Troy Polamalu in the new Head & Shoulders commercial.
Head & Shoulders
In his five weeks off since the end of minicamp and the beginning of training camp this weekend, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has vacationed in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico; Scottsdale, Ariz.; Lake Tahoe, Nev. and Texas.
“But,” Mahomes said, “I’m usually working pretty much the whole time.”
That’s why it’s appropriate that Mahomes is involved in Head & Shoulders’ “Never Not Working” ad campaign, riffing on the fact that the shampoo is always working to give users up to 100% dandruff protection.
The major thing Mahomes worked on this offseason was improving his decision-making and getting the ball out of his hands more quickly.
To do so, he broke down film from last year, and his offseason quarterback coach — and founder of Throw It Deep training — Jeff Christensen repeatedly put him in drills where he sent multiple receivers down the field, forcing him to make snap decisions and throw to the right target depending on the call Christensen made.
That should be good preparation for quickly firing the ball to Tyreek Hill, Travis Kelce, Mecole Hardman or Clyde Edwards-Helaire.
“We have so many playmakers around me,” Mahomes said. “If I can get it to them, a lot of good things can happen.”
He’ll continue to hone his decision-making at training camp, where Mahomes will have no restrictions despite having February surgery on the toe he initially injured in the AFC Divisional Playoff Game against the Cleveland Browns.
“I’m excited to go into camp feeling 100% … It’s doing great. I’ve had no setbacks,” he said. “I’ll be full go for sure.”
His arduous of days of rehab are behind him, though he’ll do exercises every now and then after practice as a precautionary measure.
The toe has recovered, and the new father also is rested. His daughter, Sterling Skye Mahomes, who was born in February, is sleeping through the night, usually going to bed at 7 or 9 p.m. and waking up at 6 or 7 a.m.
“Brittney (Matthews) helps out a ton. She’s a great mom,” he said. “She makes it a lot easier on me.”
When Mahomes and Matthews, his fiancée, are watching TV, they’ll sometime stumble across one of his commercials, which can make for a surreal experience. He used to walk out of the room but has now become more comfortable.
“I’ve gotten used to it a little bit now,” Mahomes said. “At first it was definitely weird. I’d hear my own voice on the TV.”
The former NFL MVP and Super Bowl MVP and current highest paid NFL player has endorsed Kansas City-headquartered companies: CommunityAmerica Credit Union, Airshare and Tickets For Less and nationally-headquartered brands: Oakley, State Farm, Bose headphones, Hunt’s ketchup, Hy-Vee grocery stores, Essentia Water and Head & Shoulders.
It’s the third consecutive year he has been in a nationally televised ad for Head & Shoulders.
Partly because of Mahomes’ famous coiffure, the Head & Shoulders advertising campaign came about when his marketing manager, Jacquelyn Dahl, introduced him to the Head & Shoulders team and their agency at a Super Bowl event in Minneapolis prior to his transcendent 2018 season.
Then they had a few meetings, including at the 2019 NFL Draft in Nashville, Tenn., and talked about adding some humor to the commercials, something Mahomes was in favor of.
That resulted in the initial 2019 commercial, in which Troy Polamalu and Mahomes go back and forth on whether Head & Shoulders is great offense for hair or great defense against flakes. It resembled Miller Lite’s tastes great/less filling ads of the late 1980s.
The current commercial, which was released this week, promotes Head & Shoulders’ Scalp Shield technology by having Polamalu pop up at random locations, doing a variety of jobs to show that he’s always working — just like the shampoo.
Patrick Mahomes and Troy Polamalu appear in a Head & Shoulders commercial for the third straight … [+]
Mahomes’ favorite part is when Polamalu, who’s working at a car wash, emerges to squeegee the foam away from Mahomes’ front window. It’s a scene they had to shoot multiple times.
Polamalu also works as a golf instructor who interrupts Mahomes’ backswing.
The golf course is a common offseason setting for Mahomes. In addition to playing in Texas, he participated in the American Century Championship in Lake Tahoe this summer.
“It’s always fun when I go up to Tahoe to play in that tournament,” he said.
Mahomes also has enjoyed getting to know Polamalu. They text each other during the season, but often their interaction isn’t even about football. They instead discuss their charities and families.
“Troy’s such a great dude, man,” Mahomes said. “He truly cares about me as a person.”
Their rapport shows in the ads. They did not write any of the lines, but the directors allowed them to go off script a bit.
“We have fun while we’re doing it,” Mahomes said. “I think that’s why it’s so funny.”
Because of their flowing locks, Polamalu and Mahomes are natural spokesmen for Head & Shoulders.
Mahomes’ hairstyle — heavy on top, shaved on the sides — is cool for a 25-year-old quarterback, but the new father eventually may have to opt for more of a dad look.
“We’ll see how long I can keep this,” Mahomes said. “I don’t know if I can have a 15-year-old daughter with this hairdo.”
